Break it down now!
by goldenone
Summary: A mandatory Karaoke songfic. Something fun and easy to write. Enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

AN- Just a mandatory Karaoke story. Felt like doing something easy with songs in it, so yeah. Enjoy!

Dumbledore had done it again. He'd found a way to make the Houses compete without physically hurting each other. Hooray! His problem had surfaced when it had been brought to his attention that Quidditch, and other sports played at Hogwarts were getting really violent. So he banned them all (much to everyone's shock and horror) and now they had competitions every other weekend that were approved of or thought up by the Headmaster. Past disasters had been Wizarding Chess Face Off (a brawl had broken out over whether or not a move played by a second year Hufflepuff was legal or not), Jumping Bean Races (several of the beans had disappeared and then been found later in various house member's food), and the terrifying Noodle Incident, which no one will talk about to this very day.

But he had a solution now. He had something everyone would like, he just knew it. Now if he could just keep them from killing each other…

Everyone was crowded around the announcement board as a message scrolled across it. Harry and Ron elbowed their way through the group, forging towards the front to see what was going on. They reached the board and stood staring up at it as words flowed by: "Attention all Houses: The weekly competition has been announced! Entries for the Hogwarts Karaoke Show must be turned in by Wednesday to be checked and approved. There is only one condition: Muggle songs must be used. Please put your entry slip in the box next to the doorway into the Dining Hall. Thank you and have a frabjous day."

Shaking his head as they walked away, Harry looked at Ron. "He's flipped. No one's gonna do this." Ron just kept on walking, a confused look on his face. "Harry," he asked, "What's frabjous mean?" Hermione appeared at their side, answering his question, "It's a made-up word for joyous, Ron. He was quoting the poem 'Jaberwocky.' Do you think you'll enter the contest?" They shook their heads, and she rattled on in excitement, "Ginny and I are. We're gonna sing a song together in a duet. Oh, I hope we're allowed to do that, I should probably check with Professor McGonagle, don't you think? Oh, you two should sing something, it would be so cool if you did! Why don't you look through my CD collection tonight? I'll bring it down after dinner ok? I'll see you later guys!" (Author's challenge: Try saying that whole thing with only one breath!)

Ron stared after her, then turned back to Harry, a terrified look on his face. "Did you give her coffee again?"

It was the night of the show, and Hermione had managed to force the two into performing. After practicing several times in an empty classroom (something unusually hard to find at the time despite the large amount of unused classrooms scattered throughout Hogwarts), they stood backstage waiting to go on. Harry and Ron stood facing each other, hurling insults back and forth like an old married couple. Ginny walked up to them, her eyes wide. "You two aren't fighting, are you?"

Harry turned and flashed a smile at her. "No, we just found out we sound better if we get angry." Turning back to Ron, he sneered. "You're so pathetic. Why don't you get your own life instead of trying to shadow mine all the time?" Ron shot back, "I can't help being in your shadow, your head's so big it blocks out the sun!"

A voice sounded from the side curtains, "Potter! Weasley! You're on!" They both turned, each kissed Ginny's cheek for luck, and walked on. Each holding a microphone, the music started up, and Ginny heard them hiss at each other before they started singing, "White trash!" from Harry, "Blowhard!" from Ron. Then they started into the song, Harry singing Mike's part, Ron Chester's:

Yo peep the style and the kids checking for it

The number one question is

How could you ignore it?

We drop right back in the cut

Over basement tracks

With raps that got you backing this up like

Rewind That

We're just rolling with the rhythm

Rise from the ashes of stylistic division

With these non-stop lyrics of life living

Not to be forgotten

But still un-forgiven

But in the meantime there are those who wanna

Talk this and that, so I suppose that

It gets to a point where feelings gotta get hurt

And get dirty with the people spreading the dirt

It goes

Try to give you warning

But everyone ignores me

Told you everything loud and clear

But nobody's listening

Call to you so clearly

But you don't want to hear me

Told you everything loud and clear

But nobody's listening

I got a heart full of pain

Head full of stress

Hand full of anger held in my chest

And everything left is a waste of time

I hate my rhymes

But I hate everyone else's more

I'm riding on the back of this pressure

Guessing that it's better that I can't keep myself together

Because of all this stress gave me something to write on

The pain gave me something I could set my sights on

You never forget the blood sweat and tears

The uphill struggle over years

The fear and trash talking

And the people it was to

And the people that started it

Just like you

Try to give you warning

But everyone ignores me

Told you everything loud and clear

But nobody's listening

Call to you so clearly

But you don't want to hear me

Told you everything loud and clear

But nobody's listening

I got a

Heart full of pain, head full of stress

Handful of anger, held in my chest

Uphill struggle, blood, sweat and tears

Nothing to gain, everything to fear

Heart full of pain, head full of stress

Handful of anger, held in my chest

Uphill struggle, blood, sweat and tears

Nothing to gain, everything to fear

Heart full of pain...

Try to give you warning

But everyone ignores me

Told you everything loud and clear

But nobody's listening

Call to you so clearly

But you don't want to hear me

Told you everything loud and clear

But nobody's listening

I've got Heart full of pain

Head full of stress

Nobody's listening

Handful of anger

Held in my chest

Nobody's listening

Uphill struggle

Blood, sweat and tears

Nobody's listening

Nothing to gain

Everything to fear

Nobody's listening

Coming at you from every side

Harry and Ron finished, and they stood on the stage, bowing as a smattering (AN- isn't that a great word!) of applause came from the crowd. A few whistles came from the back where the Gryffindors who weren't performing sat. They walked off the other side of the stage while Hermione and Ginny came on. A minute passed as Hermione set up the microphones while Ginny plugged the electric guitar she carried into the amp (Another AN- Of course Ginny plays guitar. You didn't know that?). They stepped up to the mikes and Ginny flashed Hermione a nervous smile. Grinning back, Hermione gave a quick introduction to their song.

"Hey everybody. Um, this is a song by the Muggle band Dashboard Confessional. We chose it because, I guess it just kind of describes how we feel. A lot of our friends will be leaving after this year, and it's hard for us to watch them leave. So this is us saying goodbye." She stepped back and Ginny added on, "We love you guys," before she started in on the guitar. A sad melody floated out of the amp, and she played a few bars before Hermione started singing, her voice barely above a whisper. As the song played on, her voice grew stronger, and Ginny joined in towards the end, harmonizing beautifully.

Pacific sun you should have warned us

It gets so cold here

And the night can freeze before you set it afire

And our flares go unnoticed

Diminished

Fading just as soon as they are fired

We are, we are intrigued

We are, we are invisible

Oh how we've shouted, how we've screamed

Take notice, take interest, take me with you

But all our fears fall on deaf ears

Tonight they're burning the roads they built to lead us to the light

And blinding our hearts with their shining lies

While closing our caskets cold and tight

But I'm dying to live

Pacific sun you should have warned us

These heights are dizzying

And the climb can kill you long before the fall

Our trails go unmapped and

Unmarked and

Covered just as soon as they are cross

We are, we are intriguing

We are, we are desirable

Oh how we've shouted, how we've screamed

Take notice, take interest, take me with you

But all our fears fall on deaf ears

Tonight they're burning the roads they built to lead us to the light

And blinding our hearts with their shining lies

While closing our caskets cold and tight

But I'm dying to live

Oh how we've shouted, how we've screamed

Take notice, take interest, take me with you

But all our fear fall on deaf ears

Tonight they're burning the roads they built to lead us to the light

And blinding our hearts with their shining lies

While closing our caskets cold and tight

But I'm dying to live…

Hermione held the last note for almost a whole minute, her voice never wavering while Ginny played out the ending chords. They broke off at the exact same moment, and dead silence fell for a second. Then applause started and built up into screams and stomps as the crowd went wild. They walked off, smiling widely and waving at the crowd. Once offstage they were swept into a huge group hug by the performers. They broke apart and turned to watch as the next performer walked onstage.

A young Ravenclaw girl with long dark hair and blue robes on walked onstage with an acoustic guitar and a stool. She sat down and flashed a smile at the crowd while the microphone floated up to rest in front of her. "Hi. I'm Leslie, everybody, and this is one of my favorite songs. I've uh, never done this before, so be kind, ok?" She leaned back and played the intro, then started singing.

You say you heard every word, but I watched you turn away

Your eyes grew colder than winter

"Love is so intrusive" I thought I heard you say

And laugh so unconvincingly

Famous last words"I'm not ready yet"

"I won't be gone a minute"

Narrow is the road and too high a price to pay

When loneliness is such a sanctuary

Empty are the musings and wasted are the days

When you said you were only waiting

And famous last words"I'm not ready yet"

"I won't be gone a minute" and I won't forget

Famous last words

If tomorrow never comes,

Will I ever know that I was in love?

That I was in love

In love

You say you heard every word, but I watched you turn away

You said you were only waiting

When she finished and leaned back from the mike, the crowd clapped appreciatively. She smiled at everyone and walked offstage. Harry turned to talk to Ron, but then turned back to the stage when he saw his red-headed friend was busy talking to the young girl. Grinning to himself at the sight of Ron trying to talk to a girl, he thought, "It's about time he found someone," then watched in interest as the entire female population of Huffelpuff filed onstage and crowded around Ernie MacMillian. Hannah Abbot giggled into the mike that this song was "dedicated to you, Ernie, from all of us." And they all started singing.

You walked into the party

Like you were walking onto a yacht

Your hat strategically dipped below one eye

Your scarf it was apricot

You had one eye in the mirror

As you watched yourself gavotte

And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner

They'd be your partner, and

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain

I'll bet you think this song is about you

Don't you? Don't you?

You had me several years ago

When I was still quite naive

Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair

And that you would never leave

But you gave away the things you loved

And one of them was me

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee

Clouds in my coffee, and

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain

I'll bet you think this song is about you

Don't you? Don't you?

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee

Clouds in my coffee, and

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain

I'll bet you think this song is about you

Don't you? Don't you?

Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga

And your horse naturally won

Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia

To see the total eclipse of the sun

Well, you're where you should be all the time

And when you're not, you're with

Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend

Wife of a close friend, and

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain

I'll bet you think this song is about you

Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you

You're so vain (so vain)

I'll bet you think this song is about you

Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?

They all filed back offstage, with Ernie once again in the middle, his face bright red. The hoots and whistles from the audience following them off.

Up next was Draco Malfoy. A murmur ran through the crowd as he came onstage, microphone in his hand. Several whispers of "What is he doing?" and "Why is he up there?" could be heard, mostly from the Slytherins, who were just as surprised to see him up there as everyone else. He glared at the crowd and they shut up. He said quickly, "I wanted to sing this song. I heard it on some Muggle radio during Holiday over the summer." Music started playing, and he sang.

Step out the front door like a ghost

Into the fog where no one notices

The contrast of white on white.

And in between the moon and you

The angels get a better view

Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right.

I walk in the air between the rain,

Through myself and back again.

Where?

I don't know Maria says she's dying.

Through the door, I hear her crying

Why?

I don't know

Round here we always stand up straight

Round here something radiates

Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand

She said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis

She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land

Just like she's walking on a wire in the circus

She parks her car outside of my house,

Takes her clothes off,

Says she's close to understanding Jesus

She knows she's more that just a little misunderstood

She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous

Round here we're carving out our names

Round here we all look the same

Round here we talk just like lions

But we sacrifice like lambs

Round here she's slipping through my hands

Sleeping children got to run like the wind

Out of the lightning dream

Mama's little baby better get herself in

Out of the lightning

She says"It's only in my head."

She says"Shhh...I know it's only in my head."

But the girl on the car in the parking lot

Says"Man, you should try to take a shot

Can't you see my walls are crumbling"

Then she looks up at the building

And says she's thinking of jumping.

She says she's tired of life

She must be tired of something.

Round here she's always on my mind

Round here I got lots of time

Round here we're never sent to bed early

Nobody makes us wait

Round here we stay up very very late

Draco's voice faded away, and everyone stared. He hadn't been that bad, actually. Some tentative applause started, and he walked off as it grew into genuine appreciation.

Backstage Hermione and Ginny walked up to him. Ginny stood back and let her partner do all the talking. "That was pretty good, Malfoy."

"I don't need your approval, Granger!" he snarled, and would have said more if Dumbledore hadn't at that moment appeared next to him. "Ah, there you are. I wanted to ask you two a question."

"What is it, Headmaster?" Hermione queried, turning her face up towards him. Draco glanced up and asked, "Yeah, what do you want?" Beaming at them, Dumbledore but his arms around them in a proud, fatherly way and said, "I wondered if you would mind doing a duet for the Karaoke concert in Hogesmeades next visit. Madam Rosemerta heard about our contest and asked me to find her a few students to perform!" He looked at them, happily oblivious to their shock.

AN- Yeah, I know it's a dumb ending, but I can't think of how to end it, so this is how I'm doing it. All of the songs are real, and they all rock, and everyone should go and listen to them right now. I think I'm gonna go do that, actually. Byes!


	2. Let me explain

Ok, so I got some comments and questions about the songs I used, so here's the info on them:

First song was "Nobody's Listening" by Linkin Park. Chester's the dude that can wail/scream, and Mike's the rapper.

Second song was called "Several Ways to Die Trying" by Dashboard Confessional, from their CD A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar. Go listen to it!

Third song was by the band Jars of Clay, it's called "Famous Last Words." Good band, mostly acoustic, and their lyrics tend to be very personal.

Fourth's called "You're so Vain" by Carly Simon. An awesome song, her vocal range is incredible if you listen to her cds.

Fifth song's called "Round Here" by Counting Crows. Another great band, and this song's great.

So I hope that clears up any questions you have. Laters!


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